


The Escape

by vi_mexa



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Mages and Templars, Origin Story, all that jazz
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-02
Updated: 2018-06-02
Packaged: 2019-05-17 04:07:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 10,781
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14824956
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vi_mexa/pseuds/vi_mexa
Summary: The story of how Dell Trevelyan came to be and how sometimes the best friendships can be born from crime.





	1. Intro

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this a while back and posted it on tumblr in sections. I said I'd eventually move it over here....well, here it is.
> 
> Original A/N: This is the start of Dell’s (Emerald’s) story and introduces Daria because I love her and she needs to be somewhere (and she fits in real nice in this case). The whole thing eventually explains the Em-to-Dell name change because I can’t think of dropping a name change in any other way.

_17…18…18 and half…19…20._ Emerald knew that the Carta would be coming with this month’s lyrium shipment tomorrow. She’d been on her best behavior for the past four months, hoping that she’d get the ‘privilege’ to help the templars transfer the crates to the storeroom.

_I’ll get to talk with someone….only for a moment or two, but hopefully they’ll agree._ She had scrounged up twenty sovereigns over the past two years or so doing some odd jobs and a few favors for those in the Circle in hopes that she could bribe one of the smugglers to steal her phylactery. A long shot at best— she’d been planning this since she was brought to the Circle at age eleven….eight years ago— if all went well she would bribe the Carta, survive her Harrowing, escape a few days later, then meet up and collect her phylactery. Worst case scenario, she either doesn’t survive the Harrowing or the Carta doesn’t actually steal her phial and she gets caught after a few months.

_No….I’ve thought this out. It’ll be fine. Hana told me I’m up tomorrow, I have the necklace, the money….that’s it._ She replayed all possible scenarios out in her head as she shoved the coins back under her pillow and laid her head down. The shipment always came before the sun rose so she didn’t see much point in sleeping…other than preparing her for the Harrowing that would happen later that afternoon.


	2. The plan

She was dressed in robes and waiting in the corridor for the templars to show up and go outside. _Typical….taking their sweet time as if they’ve not a care in the world._ A small glint caught her eye as she looked down at her chest. The necklace she had placed a charm on was peeking out from her robes, reacting with her magic and glowing brightly. She quickly shoved it under the layer of thick fabric, suddenly grateful that she held up so poorly in cold weather that they gave her thicker robes.

Knight Captain Alandra was the first to make it down to the apprentices’ quarters. “Trevelyan.” she nodded a quick ‘good morning’ and stood waiting for the rest of her troupe. Emerald gave a nod back and rubbed her hands together, trying to get some warmth going without having to resort to magic. Alandra, still groggy, walked over to her, “Trevelyan, if you’re that cold you may generate a little heat…provided you expend a little extra effort to warm my armor up a bit.”

With a small flourish of her hands Em had created a small bubble that radiated warmth. Both women let out a relaxed breath as they felt themselves being shielded from the coldness that radiated from the stone around them and after a minute the bubble dissipated. Alandra looked up at her, “I don’t know why you’re up so early…you have a big day ahead,” she said as she motioned for Em to lean closer, “I hope you make it, Trevelyan. You’d make a good enchanter someday.”

“Thank you, Ser. It’s more comforting than you know…especially to hear that coming from you,” she smiled, not really sure if she still wanted to go through with her plan. _The head templar of the Circle likes me enough to basically tell me that my Harrowing is today! Not that I didn’t already know but that’s a lot of trust and I’d feel terrible if I— No. No. Nonono. NO. You’ve gotten this far, it’s now or never, dammit._

They heard the clanking of metal on stone and knew the other templars had finally gotten up. Once all had gathered they made their way to the courtyard to start moving the crates.

Three Carta dwarves leered at the group as they stepped out into the brisk morning air. “Planning on ending a few extra mages this month? You’ve got more lyrium than usual,” the dwarf’s voice was gravelly, like he’d had his throat crushed one too many times.

One of the templars chuckled and elbowed Jaden, the new recruit, who let out a nervous laugh but quickly stopped once Alandra glared back at them. “No, just a few Harrowings that were a bit unexpected,” was her calm reply. Emerald stood there and paled thinking of what could happen if her Harrowing went awry.

Another dwarf - female this time - shook her head, “You templars don’t know what a joke is, do you?”

Alandra stiffened her back even more and sternly began, “Harrowings are not things to jo—”

“Yes, yes. We get it. Don’t start lecturing us; we just wanna get this junk inside so we can get paid,” spoke a second female dwarf, obviously not interested in being there. “So can we maybe….hurry up?”

Jaden was quick to nod and pick up crates as Alandra and the male dwarf checked over the shipment manifest and began making arrangements for pay and next month’s supply. Timidly, Emerald walked over and bent down to pick up a crate. The two female Carta members were already carrying supplies into the tower and she was quick to catch up even though it was quite a walk from the outdoors to the storage chambers.

 _Let’s not talk to the one who was trying to push the joke, maybe…._ She quietly stuttered, “U-um….hi. Wh-what do—”

“Huh,” the dwarf loudly questioned, then looked around to find everyone staring at her, “oh….sorry. I hiccuped. Nasty things, those.” They went back to walking and she turned back to Emerald, “Were you talking to me? If you were I missed the whole thing,” she said much more quietly this time.

Deciding this was her one chance to sell her plan, Em took a deep breath and muttered, “How would you like to make twenty sovereigns?”

The dwarf eyed her skeptically, “Let me see them first, then we talk. Circle mages don’t just have coin.”

By this point the group had made it to the storage chambers and were placing the supplies in their designated spaces. The mage took her pouch and casually placed it on top of the woman’s crate as she walked by. Her eyes widened when she opened it and found there was a fair amount of coin to be made off of this young mage.

“Alright, what is it? Lyrium just for you,” asked the woman as she sidled up to Emerald who was rearranging some things in the corner.

“No. And I only have enough time to explain this once, so please listen,” she explained, hoping that the dwarf’s inattentiveness would temporarily disappear.

She scoffed, “Girl, for twenty gold I would just about give you an ear.”

Em started walking back out of the room and back to the courtyard in order to stay with the templars’ pace. “My Harrowing is today, my phylactery will be sent on a guarded caravan to some other location but it has to leave via the road here. Steal it for me and meet me at dark by the forest’s edge in two days’ time,” she said quickly and dug around the front of her robes. The dwarf just looked at her like she was insane but still was listening.

“This,” she said as she ripped off her necklace, “will show you which one is mine. If none of them glow, I died and you get paid anyway.”

Mouth open in disbelief, the Carta woman stared at her before swiping the necklace out of sight, “You’re a sodding lunatic if I’ve ever seen one, but best of luck to you, girl. You got yourself a deal.” She walked on ahead like they’d never talked and joined her two cohorts. Shaking from nervousness and adrenaline, Emerald scurried over to Captain Alandra.

“You’re cold already,” Alandra asked when she noticed the mage was shaking, “Do we need to get you even thicker robes?”

“N-no,” she chattered, trying her best to fake coldness, “the storeroom w-was just a bit chilly. I’m s-sure once I g-get back to my bed I’ll be f-fine.”

“Please, Emerald. Get some rest, it’s still too early for most mages to be up,” Alandra shooed her back into the tower but she heard the other templars snickering to themselves. She chose to ignore them and scrambled into her bedsheets hoping to alleviate some of her anxiety with her oh-so-familiar space.


	3. Daria

“Those tower folks are fucking insane,” said Reddik, the male Carta member. It was a good distance back to their base and he loved to complain about every job they had. Louise, the blonde female dwarf shot him an angry look.

“Can you really find nothing better to do than gripe about those people?”

Daria spoke up, “Hey, now. They pay well and that’s what matters, guys.” Daria’s silvery hair was tied up in a bun on the top of her head and slowly coming undone. She kept fighting with it as they were walking, trying to get it to stay but gave up after about five minutes. Her shoulders slumped as she admitted defeat and the hair came out of the bun and fell onto her back.

Louise laughed at Daria’s predicament, “Ha, that’s the longest I’ve ever seen your hair stay up on a job.” She reached over and slapped Daria on the shoulder; Reddik muttered something about females and grumbled on ahead of them. “Hey,” said Louise, “what’s that? You nick it from the tower or something?” She pointed at the cord partially sticking out of Daria’s pocket.

“Oh this,” she asked, grabbing the ends of the necklace Emerald had given her, “that mage wanted me to take it. Paid me for a favor, too. Only the Maker knows where she managed to get twenty sovereigns.” Reddik and Louise turned to Daria with wide eyes and open mouths.

“ _Waitwaitwaitwaitwait._ That scrawny little bag of bones paid you _twenty_ coins to take a necklace?” asked Louise; she wasn’t believing any bit of that story.

“I _fucking told you_! Tower folks have sodding lost their minds!” Reddik raved, hands in the air to emphasize his point.

“Nah, that’s not how it is,” Daria dismissed their concerns with a wave of her hand. “But now that you mention it….I’m not going back with you guys. Not for another day or two, anyway. So I’m gonna need that bag of food and shit from you, Reddik.” She had stopped walking and held out her hand in Reddik’s direction, motioning for him to hand over the supply pack.

His face turned the color of a sunburnt nug and yelled. “What the fuck?! No! I’m not giving you anything until you tell us what’s going on. You’re the newest member of our branch and there is no way I’m letting you run off on your own to do Maker-knows-what! You wanted to be part of this organization, and damn it you’re not leaving!”

Louise stepped up beside Reddik and crossed her arms, “Yeah, mages are no good; that necklace is probably cursed or something. Besides, you’re one of us now, you don’t just get to take on other jobs.”

Daria’s eyes narrowed at her partners, “First off, I chose to join because I would be making money. Is that _not_ what I’m doing right now?” She reached around and grabbed a small knife from the back of her left boot. “Second, I was allowed to join because I’m good at what I do. Sneaking, smuggling.…on the off chance, killing.…” she was twirling the knife between her fingers now, a hint of a threat to punctuate her words. “And third? I wasn’t asking, Reddik. Give. Me. The. Bag.”

The other two stared at her then looked at each other, wondering what to do in such a situation. Louise was the one to speak first, “Fine. Reddik, give her the damn bag.”

He slowly crossed the space between them and set the bag down in front of Daria. “You’d better be bringing that back, you know.” Glaring at her he backed toward Louise again, looking about as happy as a bronto giving birth.

Before Daria could say anything Louise cut her off, “Oh, she will. You’ll be back at the building in four days. And if you’re not, you know who we’ll be coming after.”

Without breaking eye contact with Louise, Daria bent and picked up the sack. Once she had it in her hands she gave an exasperated sigh, “I plan on coming back, Andraste’s tits you’re stupid. This is how I get paid, I’m not just gonna ditch the Carta.” She went to go back towards the tower but quickly turned back to Louise and Reddik. “Oh, and before I forget….don’t go there, bitch. You involve my parents in any way and you’ll be able to go to Orzammar and join the Silent Sisters. And if you try and get Lor? Well, let’s just say I wouldn’t suggest _that_ , either.”

Daria gave a perfunctory wave and left her companions to head back to the base on their own; she had bigger plans. _Now….if I was an important magey-type where would I send a caravan…._


	4. Harrowing

Emerald woke up a short time later and changed into the comfiest set of robes she had. _If I’m going to die, I am going to do so in the best way possible— Comfortable, clean, and proud of myself that I’ve made it this far._ A few other apprentice mages were getting ready and exchanging best-of-luck wishes. She walked over to them and said a quick ‘good luck’ to everyone who was up for their trial today. As she was walking away one person stopped her— it was Hana, the Dalish woman whose clan turned her away.

“I have something for you, Em,” she pulled something off of her nightstand as she spoke, “It is not much but maybe it will bring you into the favor of one of the Gods.”

She always loved listening to Hana tell stories of the Elven gods; many separate powers seemed more likely than one almighty Maker in her opinion. A smile crept across her face, “Oh! Thank you Hana, you didn’t have to do anything. You already sneaked around and told me when my Harrowing was planned.”

“I feel like it will help you. You like hearing tales of a certain God and your personality and powers seem to match his….I made you a drawing of Falon’din’s owl.” She handed over a small piece of vellum and continued explaining as Em examined the ink drawing, “It should help guide you through the Fade for your Harrowing…. and will also help if you do not make it through, though I’m sure you’ll be fine.”

Em leaned in and gave the slightly shorter woman a hug, “Thank you Hana, thank you so much! I’ll carry it with me always.”

“Oh, now that’s not necessary,” Hana said as she tried to disengage the arms that were wrapped around her small frame. Em let go and Hana took her shoulders and gripped them firmly, “You’ve been a sister to me here; you didn’t judge me by the shape of my ears nor the Gods I worship. You treated me like….like I was an equal. This is the least I can do to show my appreciation. Your Harrowing is today, mine is scheduled for next week. With any bit of luck we’ll be full-fledged mages rooming with each other next month.”

She smiled and patted Emerald on her arms, “Now, it’s time for you to show those templars what a skittish little girl can do.”

Em had to wipe the tears starting to form at the corners of her eyes before speaking. “H-hey, if you know that you’re scheduled for next week….do you know what a Harrowing is? Like, what you do?”

Hana shook her head slowly, “Ah, I do not. I only took a quick peek at the book to check for names. If there were any other details aside from that, I missed them.”

“E-Emerald,” came a young man’s voice, “please gather yourself and follow me.” It was Jaden, apparently fetching the apprentices was his job for the day.

“Oh, doesn’t he look adorable not knowing what to do….all scared of us since he’s alone,” Hana giggled to herself quietly.

“Don’t be so hard on him, he’s new,” Em said quietly before turning her head to Jaden, “I’ll be right there.” She gave Hana another hug and a smile to a few of the other apprentices before heading to the doorway.

“Follow m-me, please,” Jaden said as he tried his best to hide the fear in his voice.

“Ser Jaden,” Emerald spoke, trying to make him feel a bit more at ease, “You don’t need to worry, I’m not going to do anything. I’m more nervous about this Harrowing business than anything.”

“H-heh….it’s not ‘Ser’. I don’t have a title yet.”

“Well I think your name should have that ‘Ser’ there. Provided I survive this, every time I see you I’ll address you as such.”

His eyes went wide and he stopped walking, pulling Em to the side of the hallway. “Please,” he said quickly, “Please do. I don’t want to have to experience another abomination. That was the most frightening thing in all of Thedas and the Beyond. I don’t want to do it again….please survive.”

Emerald looked him up and down and saw how shaken he was, “Had a rough one earlier, did we?”

He nodded vigorously, obviously terrified by whatever had transpired in the earlier Harrowing. Em patted his shoulder pauldron, “I’ll try my best, Ser.”

“Thank you,” he whispered before continuing the journey up the stairs.

 _What could’ve happened that threw him off that badly? I know that sometimes mages don’t survive, but abominations? That’s ridiculous…._ Em wondered to herself as she entered the top floor room. _So that what’s up here….a huge room. Just for Harrowings, then?_

Knight Captain Alandra and the First Enchanter were there already as well as a few other templars. “Thank you both for being timely, we do have a schedule to stick to,” she said briskly.

_Hhhh….total professionalism. I shouldn’t have expected anything less from her._

“Now Trevelyan, assuming you survive this you are not to tell any of the apprentices what to expect. Understood,” Alandra asked, though it was a somewhat rhetorical question.

Nevertheless, Emerald replied, “Of course, Ser.”

“Good. When you touch the lyrium on the pedestal, you will enter the Fade. Your task will likely become apparent once you are there,” she explained, ending with, “May the Maker watch over you.”

Emerald walked over to the center of the room and looked around at everyone there; the First Enchanter, Knight Captain Alandra, Jaden, and two helmeted templars. She reached her left hand toward the lyrium and put her right hand over where the small slip of vellum lay in her robes. _I don’t care who or what watches over me, just please let me make it out alive._

Her fingers reached the lightly glowing material and her world went black.


	5. Just Daria

“Son of a bitch,” Daria exclaimed as she wandered through the nearby forest. “How is someone supposed to hide here with all the damned animals scattering away every time you move?” She was never one for all the little things in nature; trees, plants, and some larger animals like dragons and wyverns were fine but insects and smaller critters were not her favorite.

She was currently searching for the best spot to see the road but still be out of sight. “Damn mage,” she grunted, “just _had_ to have coin, didn’t she? Maker’s breath this is irritating….but I am a woman of my word. Ugh, I should have just said no.” It was rather common to find Daria thinking out loud, most of the time there was someone there to listen. Not this time though, Reddik and Louise were on their way back home and Loreh was out doing Maker-knows-what.

“It’s lonely out here,” she sighed, plopping herself on the ground behind a bit of greenery. “I get that it’s nice to be alone sometimes but only when you need it. This is just stupid.” Daria opened the bag of supplies and fished out a biscuit. It made a loud crunch when she bit into it and she nearly spit it out but forced herself to eat it. “Oh….this is disgusting, how long has this thing been sitting around? Too fucking long, if you ask me,” she groused as she tossed the rest of the biscuit aside. “Better to let the little crawlies have it than try and choke that down.”

She looked around and found a tree with branches low enough she could hoist herself onto and began climbing. _Maybe I can find some animal stupid enough I can kill for food….I don’t have my bow so knife-throwing is gonna have to do it._ Stopping about ten feet up, she set up her pack on a branch and straddled one large branch that she felt could hold her weight for an extended amount of time.

“Twenty sovereigns, girl….twenty sovereigns. You could buy a damn nice outfit with that….or travel Thedas….that’s good, too,” she yawned, “Now to wait ‘til nightfall. Those winged rats should wake me up then.”


	6. Recovery

“Don’t crowd her! Do you want her to pass out again,” spat an angry female voice.

Emerald heard voices but she wasn’t sure where she was or what had happened. _Oh….maybe opening my eyes would help._ Her eyes slowly opened only to blink shut quickly to try and get the bright light out of her vision. Trying again, slowly this time, a few familiar faces came into focus as she tried to rub the blear away.

“Lathallan, you made it,” exclaimed Hana with a slight jump; she was clearly excited about the accomplishment. Em struggled to sit up but made it after propping her pillow up enough to rest on.

Hana immediately began asking questions as fast as her mouth could move, “So? What happened? What’s it like? How bad—”

Captain Alandra’s voice rang clearly through the area, “Mage Trevelyan isn’t allowed to speak of her experiences. You know that, Rishannon,”

“Ohhh,” Hana groaned, “I know. It’s not like she would have told me anyway— paragon of mages that she is.”

Em scoffed a little and you could almost hear Alandra chuckle before resuming her usual business-like demeanor. “I have tasked Ser Michael with helping you move your things, Trevelyan. He knows which quarters are yours and should you have questions about anything he should be prepared to answer those as well.”

“Thank you, Sers. I’ll be ready in a few minutes,” she replied, pushing herself up off the pillow.

Alandra headed out of the room and Michael elected to stay close to the bed. “Hana….how are you? I haven’t been down this way in a while,” he asked gently. The two had been close for a while before he got assigned to a new area— can’t be forming bonds with the mages, after all.

Hana smiled and her ears were tinged with a light pink, “Not much has been going on. I’m feeling alright I suppose….slightly bored but alive is a good answer, right,” she giggled.

Emerald’s eyes widened and she swung herself out of the bed to start packing her things. _Maker, no. I do not want to sit through another one of their sickening conversations. No, no. Not today._ Throwing her robes and trinkets and borrowed books into a trunk she quickly cleared her space of everything useful. She tapped Hana on the shoulder to get her attention away from Michael for just a second, “Thank you again, Hana. I’ll see you soon, right?”

The other two stopped their chat for a moment and Hana turned around and gave Em a firm hug, “I’m glad He was able to help you. And of course you’ll see me. Enjoy your solitude while it lasts, assuming you get an empty room. Once I get up there it’ll be stories every night until we pass out!”

Em laughed, “I wouldn’t expect anything less, Hana.”

Hana waved to both her and Michael as she walked over to her small desk and started drawing something else. Emerald lifted her trunk onto the foot of her bed to get a better grip on it but Michael stopped her from picking it back up.

He looked around quickly and asked, “Are you still taking favors? I’ve got fifty silvers if you are.”

“Do you unlawful types just tell the rest of the world that I’m looking for coin? I mean honestly,” she teased, “Yes, Michael, I’m taking favors. Why would I stop? I always need warmer robes, you know.” _Phew, dodged that one nicely._

Michael laughed, “Oh yes, some of us have bets going on you and when you’re going to get caught. Unfortunately I’m only partially kidding, but there’s only four of us that know of your fascination with warm clothes so don’t worry too much about it. Speaking of warm clothes, though….leave a set of your robes under the bed or somewhere here will you?”

Emerald raised an eyebrow at his odd request, “Do I even want to ask? Oh! You want to see Hana again….you are so sappy, you terrible templar.” Michael blushed and grinned in spite of himself. “Yes, yes. I’ll leave one here so you can retrieve it later.”

“An absolute darling you are, Em,” he smiled and lifted her trunk for her after he slid a few coins in. “Follow me, you’ve got some stairs to climb.”

They ascended the stairs and, being curious, Michael decided to ask another question, “So….what do you remember of your Harrowing?”

“I’ll answer that if you answer one question for me first,” she replied matter-of-factly.

He shrugged as best he could with the box in his hands and tilted his head, “Seems fair enough, what is it?”

Emerald narrowed her eyes, “Who told you about me,” she asked.

“Oh,” Michael rolled his eyes, “It was um….Brennin. She told me after you wrote up that report for her; the one about the practice enchantments she was supposed to have been supervising. Said that you charged her a lot though.”

She raised an eyebrow and looked off to the side. “Right. Pick less gossip-y templars from now on….for the record, that report needed to be ridiculously detailed. Do you know how many apprentices I had to interview to get an accurate account? As for your question,” she raised her hand to her temple and tried her best to remember what happened in the Fade, “I know it was big….the space, I mean. The demon was big too, but from what I read that’s just how pride demons are.”

“A pride demon,” Michael gasped, “For _you_? I would have thought a desire demon with hundreds of blankets and a pot of tea would have done you in.”

A laugh made it past her lips as they reached the top of the staircase, “That would have been a great improvement, to be sure.” After passing a few doors Michael stopped and walked into an open room and set down the trunk.

“Your new room,” he stated, bowing dramatically, “You haven’t been assigned anyone yet….but in the meantime you’ve got a lovely view of the gardens out this window.”

“Thank you, Ser Michael,” and Emerald bowed as well, “I’ll see to it that Ser Alandra knows one of my robes is missing.”

Ser Michael gave a quick smile and wave before heading out, shutting the door behind him. Emerald began unpacking her things but before she finished she sat on the bed and looked out the window. _My life here isn’t terrible….definitely not as bad as some have it. I could probably get used to it if I tried…._

“Uugh,” she moaned as she face planted into the pillow. Too many conflicting thoughts in her head to think properly. _I want to know what it’s like to actually live….and travel. It’ll be hard but….it’s what I’ve always wanted._ She rolled onto her back and stared at the stone ceiling as if it contained the answer to her predicament. _I still have a day and a half to decide on my escape….I’ll think on it later. Sleep is more important._


	7. Heist

_SKREE. SKREE. SKREE._

Sure enough, night fell and the bats’ chattering was enough to wake Daria from her nap. “Damned rats….why do they have to be so loud?” She looked next to her and found a bat perched upon her bag and she nearly shrieked and fell off her branch. _Stupid animals, stupid, stupid, stupid._

She left her bag in the tree but climbed down so she could see the road better. She could see an oxen-drawn cart slowly making its way to the tower and immediately started formulating plans. “Sneak into the cart? Make the cart stop somewhere along the road?” she whispered the options to herself as she evaluated the cart and its templar attendant.

A deer came up to Daria and sniffed at her hair and she nearly smacked the poor creature right in the nose in her fright. The sudden move startled it and it ran off into the distance. That made Daria think of a plan to turn her own enemy upon someone else.

“O-ho, Daria,” she applauded herself quietly, “you have got to be one of the most brilliant Carta members of all time.” She rooted around until she found herself a large broken branch and waited.

* * *

The cart was being loaded but the pickup was for only one crate, not even that large compared to the crates that the Carta delivered every month. _That’s it? That’s all I have to look through? Pfft, maybe this isn’t so terrible after all._

The two templars exchanged goodbyes and the dray headed back down the road towards where Daria had camped herself. When the cart came within twenty feet of her spot she threw the branch into the woods as hard as she could. The noise startled a plethora of creatures, including the ox pulling the cart, and many ran across the road and through the trees.

In the commotion that caused, Daria ran around to the back of the dray and jumped in while the templar tried to calm down the draft animal. She pulled the necklace out of her pocket and pried open the smallest crate in the hold. One phial glowed brightly with the necklace and she quickly grabbed it and shoved it in her gambeson, hoping the templar didn’t see how bright things got for a moment. She quietly pushed the wood back onto the nail that she had taken it off of and hopped off the back of the dray.

Apparently the templar either noticed the moment of brightness or the weight shifting in the back and stepped down from his seat to check the contents of his transport. Daria saw him move and sprinted around the other side of the cart and towards the treeline. Back pressed against a tree, she sacrificed seeing for not being seen and listened for the cart to start moving again.

_Come on, man. It doesn’t take that long to see that nothing’s moved back there. Just get on with it!_ It seemed like an eon had passed before the wheels creaked to life and the cart was a safe distance down the road. _Blessed Andraste, he moved. And I’ve got the thing! Haha!_

Daria smirked and strolled back to her climbing-tree. “Tomorrow I’ll hunt a nice meal and congratulate myself even further by napping as much as I can,” she told herself as she settled onto her branch to sleep. _What even is this thing, anyway?_

* * *

The next two nights passed without incident on Daria’s part. After discovering that the liquid in the phial was most likely blood, she kept it as far away from her as she could while still being within reach of it. The day before, she had killed a hare and cooked it over a small fire deeper in the forest and set a few traps for other rabbits. When she went to check them the next morning she found that only one trap yielded a return but it certainly made up for the failure of the others— she had ensnared a ram.

Her crude trap had made it bleed out overnight and all she had to do was ensure it was indeed dead before she released the snares. She was mildly upset that it had likely suffered the entire night but was grateful for the sustenance it would provide. _I can cook some now, bring some back with me, I could probably even sell what’s left over after that, if I can carry it._

She dragged the carcass inside her ring of traps and made quick work of it; cutting the meat and separating the pelt for later fixing while listening for any signs of larger predators interested in her fortune. She hummed a nameless tune as she cooked an afternoon meal.

“Sometime tonight that girl should show up. I’ll have to haul my ass pretty quickly to get back home by morning….eh, shouldn’t be that hard. Maybe two hours of travel to get there,” she mused to herself while picking some bits of meat off a bone, “then I smack Reddick in the face with his stupid bag and maybe break one of Louise’s remaining teeth just because she was really bitchy that day.” The thought of Louise missing yet another tooth made her giggle. _That woman’s gonna be eating nothing but soup in a few years._

Daria let out a particularly loud groan, “Come on, sun. Go down already! I’ve got plans!”


	8. Night before

Emerald spent the day after her Harrowing getting to know some of the other mages near her quarters and trying to find Captain Alandra. Right before the evening meal she found her and told her that she had misplaced one of her warmer robes and it might still be in the apprentices’ quarters. After a short lecture about not forgetting about things you need, especially not things that were costly she sent Ser Michael to bring it to her after the meal. _Great. Another job done. Some coin to start my new life with….maybe._

It had been dark for quite a while when Michael came to her door with her robe. “Hello, Miss Mage?” he called through the door.

Emerald rolled her eyes and sat up in bed, “You may enter, Ser,” she replied in a high-pitched voice, trying to imitate the noblewomen of her childhood.

Michael opened the door laughing, “Where did you learn that from? You sounded positively ridiculous!”

“Well, that was my point. You sounded just as ridiculous,” she giggled, “I picked that up from my mother, by the way.” The last bit of her statement fell flat as she recalled bits of her family memories.

“Oh,” Michael stopped his laughter and set the robes down on the bed as he awkwardly shuffled in place, “I left my family a long time ago, too. It’s been over a decade since I’ve seen or heard from them.”

Emerald looked up at him, her expression a mix of regret and anger, “Sorry about that. I didn’t mean to dredge up any feelings.” She picked up half of the robe and started playing with the fastenings to try and distract from the situation.

“No, no. It’s fine. I’m just thinking of what could have been….I’m sure everyone in this tower does that from time to time,” he explained softly, “Everyone misses their family, templars and mages alike. We leave at a young age and normally never see them again; it’s only natural to be a little upset about it, right?”

The small mage let out a small huff, “I suppose so. I’m a little more bitter towards mine than most but I guess I still miss them.”

“That’s right, I remember when you first got here. Tanner was still Knight Commander back then— he was a piece of work. We had to have every bit of armor polished to a shine or we’d be scrubbing the floors for a week….bit disappointing that Alandra hasn’t formally taken his place yet. She understands what it’s like to be stuck in here. I mean, it’s better to try and get along with mages than to stew in our hatred for one another if we’re supposed to be living the rest of our lives here.”

A long silence fell between the two; Michael wondering if he offended and Emerald worrying that maybe it would be better to stay in the Circle.

The templar was the first to start talking again. “I-I was making sense, right? I don’t want to be overly assuming, but I—”

“Oh, no. You were completely right,” Emerald quickly interjected. “I was just thinking about how different a place this would be if we all got along.”

“Yes. That would be nice,” Michael said and straightened his posture, fixing to leave, “You’re still young, maybe you’ll see it happen in your lifetime. Keep warm tonight!”

He left and shut the door behind him and Em’s face immediately soured. _While that was a touching conversation, the words ‘maybe’ and ‘in your lifetime’ are not promising at all. Things aren’t going to be sunshine and roses here any time soon. Leaving is best, plain and simple._ She glared out the window, her entire world collapsing in on itself under her realization. _Fuck._


	9. The actual escape

After a fitful night of sleep, Emerald woke up knowing that this would be her last day in the Circle. She gathered a small amount of jewelry she’d collected while here— things that she found on the floor, pieces given to her to enhance spells, and her ring of silver given to her just yesterday. These were small enough to bring with her; the pieces that didn’t hold purpose or meaning would likely be sold but some were nice enough to wear on a regular basis. She picked out different pieces of her robes— the mantle from one set, an underlayer from another, belts from one of her fancy warm ones, and an outer layer from the warmest set because it didn’t look like the rest of the Circle’s robes— to make something that would keep her warm but not be seen as the Circle-provided mage robes.

She had to go to a study group after her afternoon meal but immediately went back to packing after she said goodbye to the others in attendance. She wanted so badly to talk to Hana, to give her a hug and thank her again for all the support and friendship but she knew the best she could do is leave a note, maybe ask Alandra or Jaden to deliver it since they patrolled the apprentice areas often.

“Or you could wait until the evening meal, idiot,” she hit herself on the forehead as she realized how much harder she was making this. Em spent the next hour composing the longest way to say ‘thank you for being a friend’.

“Maker, is there anything else I can reasonably take with me,” she asked herself as she looked around her relatively barren room. _It’s not like mages have wardrobes and weapons and their own books….Hana’s drawing!_

She gasped and began furiously scribbling on the letter she had just written, trying her best to draw a dragon even though she’d only ever seen technical diagrams in the Circle’s books. Hana told her once about vallaslin and which God her’s represented— Mythal. The drawing looked a bit like a possessed cat with wings and Em’s face fell in disappointment. _What did I expect, I’ve never seen one before….and I don’t think I’ve drawn anything in at least four years….well if you tilt it it looks a bit like one. Good enough._

Sneaking it to Hana during the meal was pretty simple and it made her feel a little better knowing that her friend knew that she did care. Before the meal was over, Hana had looked over the parchment and slid it into her robes then ran over to her friend and captured her in a hug.

Brennin shouted from one of the tables nearby, “Would you two quit that? There are some folks here trying to eat.”

Hana was quick to respond to the jibe by sticking out her tongue and squinting at Brennin. The templar only rolled her eyes and continued eating.

“Thank you, lathallan,” Hana whispered before returning to her seat. That made Emerald feel a little less guilty about leaving, at least.

Their supper was over and everyone headed back to their quarters for the last few hours of free time before sleep. Emerald made sure to put her pouch away under the pillow and her robe amalgamation under her bed and decided to take a nap before running off into the night.

She was later woken up by the clanking of templar boots on stone, making sure that everyone was back where they belonged so that they, too could sleep…with the exception of the few floor guards they had. For the next hour she stared at the moon out the window trying to think of the best way to leave. _I could try and walk out of here but I’ll probably be caught at the entrance….or I could believe in myself and my magic to the point of delusion and get out that way._

Emerald donned her new robes and summoned a large amount of magic but kept it in her palms; it was a simple spell, one they were taught early on to bolster templars’ skills in case of an emergency. She grabbed hold of the bars across the window’s opening and tried to wrench them apart as far as she could. They didn’t budge, not even a little. _Fuck._

 _Okay….I could go knock out one of the floor guards, take their armor and walk out the front entrance in plain sight. No, nope. I don’t want to involve people._ Emerald sat on her bed nervously drumming her fingers on the sheets. Ideas would seem good only for a few seconds before she would convince herself otherwise. Her gaze traveled back to the window and she got an idea. It would take more magic than she’d like to expend but this was probably her best bet.

Walking over to the bars again, she drew on her magic and created a small set of flames to envelop her hands. Grabbing the bars she upped her magic output and tried heating them and pulling them apart simultaneously. The bars gave way, little by little but she knew she couldn’t keep this up for long, she’d run out of mana or someone looking out another window might see her flames. _Fuck it. This is gonna be loud and I’m going to have to jump._ She stopped the flames but didn’t let go of the bars; her eyes closed in concentration, digging up what little mana she had, froze her hands to the bars, and pulled. A few small cracking noises were heard before a loud snap resounded through the room. The bars had snapped, leaving enough room for a slight person to squeeze through. Em looked down at the ground two stories below and asked out loud, “Why do I hate myself?”

She scooped up the small pouch of personal belongings and fifty silver, cast a barrier around herself and jumped. Her feet hit the ground and her knees buckled under the weight, pain racing up her legs. The barrier dissipated after impact, no longer having the mana required to sustain it. The impact was lessened by the barrier but it didn’t cushion her fall. Emerald groaned as she flipped herself onto her knees and tried standing up; she was wobbly and there was a dull pain nearly everywhere but she was able to keep her balance.

Quickly she began running through the gardens as she heard a few loud voices running through the tower. _Good, they’re focused up there instead of here. That should buy me a little time._ She sprinted around the edge of the courtyard and the adrenaline was enough to hoist herself over the wall and off of the Circle’s grounds. She located the road and ran parallel to it towards the forest. The wide open space between the tower and the forest was the diciest part of the escape— the moon was full which allowed her to see but also meant others could see her. She ran as low to the ground as she could, hoping that if anyone saw her now they would think she was some sort of wildlife trying to get back home to their den or warren.

As she neared the tree line she thought she heard someone laughing and as she got closer it was indeed laughter.

“Andraste’s tits, is that her? Oh Maker it is! Ha,” a female voice laughed.

Emerald jumped back as a figure walked out of the shadows with two glowing objects.

Daria had both Emerald’s necklace and phylactery in her hands to try and show it was her without completely scaring the mage off. “Okay, my advice? Don’t run like that— ever. Yeah, it might buy you some time because whoever’s chasing you will probably double over laughing, but just don’t, okay?”

The initial shock wore off and Emerald practically beamed at the sight before her; the Carta woman actually managed to steal the right phylactery. She stepped forward and spoke very softly, “Thank you so much. I was worried that you wouldn’t be able to get it. I wish there was more I could give you….you’ve practi—“

Daria interrupted before Em could finish, “Stop. Just stop right there. I’m not one for these heartfelt talks, so just can it. But, you know, other than that, you’re welcome. You paid for my services fair and square and I delivered, not a big deal,” she handed over the phial and necklace to their rightful owner. “But I never got your name. Mine’s Daria, by the way,” she said with a smile a she held out her hand.

Emerald put both the necklace and phylactery into her robes and shook Daria’s hand, “My name is Emerald. Thank you, Daria.”

“Right, and you’re how old,” Daria cocked her head to the side as she asked the question, very curious to find out the answer.

Em looked at the ground with wide eyes trying to remember all of the name days that weren’t really celebrated in the tower, “I….uh….I think I’m nineteen. Yes, that seems about right.”

“You still have the look of a child. Like you don’t know how the world works….makes sense though, stuck in that place for all that time.” Daria rubbed at the back of her neck with a concerned expression focused on the younger mage. She sighed, “I’m willing to offer you a bit of help and advice if you’re willing to take it. What say you, girl?”

The mage couldn’t see a reason not to take a few minutes to listen, it would probably be invaluable to her. “Um, yes. I would appreciate that, actually.”

“Alright, good. First we need to get away from here. It’s too close, I’ve got a small camp-like thing set up further in.”


	10. Guidance

“First, is that really what they give you to wear in that place? It looks….weirder than most robes I’ve seen in that place,” Daria said as she pointed at Emerald’s robe conglomerate.

Emerald looked down at her clothes and grabbed a handful of the bottom portion, pretending to examine it, “Kind of….It’s a few robes put together. I thought it would look less like I was from the Circle if I was wearing different clothes.”

Daria walked around her camp and picked up a few sticks and tossed them into a small pile. Setting the kindling on fire, she looked up at the younger woman and grimaced, “Well, despite your best efforts there, sweetie, you may find people asking you more questions because you look like an Orlesian disaster.”

Frowning, Dell dropped her hands to hang limply at her sides and she looked herself over again. _I didn’t think it looked that bad….I thought it could start a new trend or something, maybe._

“And you said your name was Sapphire or something, right,” Daria asked as she continued to set up the campfire and small cooking spit.

“Uh, Emerald, actual-”

Daria stood up and started shaking her hands in front of her, “No, that’s not the point, kiddo. Your name sounds pretty unique, really out-of-place. If someone were to hear that name, they’d remember it….and if your templars are gonna come looking for you that’s not what you want. Am I right?”

Emerald looked off to the side and considered the situation for a moment before slowly nodding.

“Change it to something else. You can be whoever you want now, take advantage of that,” said Daria while setting some meat strips over the spit. She looked over at the mage and saw her hanging her head dejectedly and quickly added, “It’s not that your plan wasn’t great it just….well, it isn’t that great. You came up with a mostly good plan but your separation from the real world made parts of it not-so-good. Get what I’m saying?”

With a sigh the mage sat down on the ground and murmured a small “yes” before turning her attention to the fire and trying to use her magic to speed up the cooking time on the meat. Her attempt didn’t do much and she put her hands back down after she remembered that she had used up nearly all her mana already.

Daria saw that this was getting nowhere slowly and started thinking about how soon she’d have to haul herself out of this place to make it back to the safehouse before dawn. She popped her lips a few times while considering her options then turned to Em with a stern look, “You know how you told me your plan back at the Circle? Well, now it’s time for you to listen to my plan.”

The young mage looked up at Daria with an inquisitive expression, her eyebrows raised as far as they could go. “A plan? A plan for what,” she asked.

“For you, lil’un,” Daria smiled, “I have a short-term safety net for you. Ready?”

Emerald nodded vehemently, eager to hear of a way to continue her escape plan.

“Okay, uh, this isn’t entirely thought out but I think it’ll work well enough for you, girl,” explained Daria as she started pacing back and forth, “I have to leave here — soon — so I’ll leave you here with this tiny camp and what’s left of that goat-thing for food or whatever you can think to do with it. That should be enough to get you through a few days out here but you have to move,”

Daria pointed away from herself for emphasis on that last word, “I can’t stress that enough. Your people are gonna come this way looking for you and you’re gonna have to not be here. Here’s five gold back, trust me you’re gonna need it;” She rummaged through her pockets to hand over a few coins and a small uneven rock.

“And that, my friend, is a chunk of refined lyrium I nicked a while back. I think you’ll get a bit more use out of it than I would. Anyway, just get outta here, change your name, and start a new life. Simple, yeah?”

Emerald looked at Daria in complete disbelief. _You’ve got to be kidding me. She said my plan wasn’t up-to-par but spits_ this _out?_ After a moment of consideration she spoke, “I suppose you know better than I would about the outside world….Is there anything else I should know; do most people carry around weapons or something? Do I need to make up a story about my family?”

Despite being considered an adult she was scared to death and was really just hoping that maybe this woman would be able to tell her more about the world she would now have to live in. It differed from her initial perception so much and the uncertainty was was wreaking havoc on her nerves.

The dwarven woman knelt down by the fire and pulled off three strips of meat— two for herself, which she promptly shoved in her mouth and regretted, and one that she held out towards Emerald. As Daria tried to cool off the food she had in her mouth, Em took the meat and bit off a small chunk.

_It’s so…._ She couldn’t even find words to describe it. It wasn’t much different from some of the meat she’d had in the Circle but this felt different somehow— more real.

After she had finished chewing her mouthful, Daria reached over and clapped her hand on the younger woman’s back. “You do what you want about your family. Someone might ask you where you came from and it’s your choice whether you give them a story or punch them. As for your other question,” She stared into the fire like it would give her the next words to say.

She huffed, “This is dependent on how you want to look, really. If you don’t carry one, or at least not visibly, you’ll probably get hassled a few times. If it’s concealed and you pull it out when that happens people will think you’re part of some local bandit group or something. If you carry a weapon and people see it, it’s unlikely they’ll give you trouble but they might also pick a fight with you just because they can.

I guess what I’m trying to say is….the world runs on personal preference. You do what you want but you have to deal with those consequences. Understand?”

Emerald sat there, confused, staring at Daria like she was speaking a different language. Daria grimaced and patted her on the back. “H-hey kiddo? You doing alright,” she asked nervously. _Oh Maker, I’ve broken her. Please do not stick me with this child, she needs more help than I can give._

It took a minute but she eventually snapped back to reality.

“Yes,” she answered shakily, “I understand. It’s just a lot to think about right now. I….I didn’t think about this at all past the escape.” She finished her meat and tried to keep herself from crying.

Daria saw the girl’s internal struggle and decided to give it one last shot before she absolutely had to leave. She came right in front of Emerald and put her hands on the girl’s shoulders and stared directly at her, “Okay, yeah, you didn’t think about it too well but that’s not gonna change the fact that you made it out already. What are you gonna do now? You’re out and you have all of Thedas to see, are you really gonna go back in that tower and say you’re sorry?”

Em opened her mouth to say something but Daria cut her off, “Let me answer that for you— _No, you’re not!_ You’re gonna go out there and live like people are meant to. I started when I was only half your height and I’m still going! Whatever it is you’ve got in your head, do it.”

After a few seconds of speechless eye contact Daria stood up.

“Well that ends my motivational stuff,” she said flatly as she dusted off her hands, “Won’t have any kind of speech-making skills for at least another two months. Oh, hey. There’s some metal junk arranged in a circle around here, feel free to sell those traps….”

She patted the bag next to her, “Reddik won’t miss them. Well, alright, he probably will but I don’t care. That’s what happens when you’re an ass and I have to deal with you.” She smiled but her joke was only funny to her as Emerald just sat there dumbly looking up at Daria. “Anyway, I’ve got to get back to my ‘family’ so….good luck. Knock ‘em out, girl!”

_Alright, so I’m down five gold, still not bad….but ugh that lyrium was gonna go for like twenty on its own…Eh, the kid needs help. I’ll just not tell Lor what happened while I was over here….yeah, yeah._ Definitely _not telling._

Daria gave a small wave, turned and began running to the west, leaving the mage alone with her thoughts.

Once Em was sure the dwarven woman was out of earshot, she sobbed softly, letting out all of her troubles until she didn’t have any energy left. She knew it was going to take everything she had to move on and it was best to get it out now.

_I’m going to do this….get up and go, travel Thedas,_ live.


	11. Reunion

Four years later, Emerald was known to the Inquisition as Dell. No one knew that it wasn’t her real name and she didn’t miss her birth name, either.

She had just gotten back to Skyhold after taking her favorite dracolisk out for a ride and found Marin at the stables tending to his hart. She threw her axe down outside the stable before dismounting and leading her animal into its pen.

“Well, mage? How were the roads,” Marin asked sarcastically. He knew that the half-insult no longer held any weight between them but knew that it would still get her attention. “One of the scouts earlier said there was a small group of highwaymen out where you usually ride….your man is in his office pacing endlessly— you left before he got that report. Go see him.”

Dell shook her head and smiled, “Should I take him with me next time, do you think?”

A low chuckle could be heard from the barn as Blackwall came out to join in the conversation. “He would still worry just as much if not more. Maker forbid anything happen….he’d be responsible for your safety, then,” he laughed.

Marin joined in the laughter, “Dell, the two of you worry just as much about each other; don’t think I haven’t seen you throwing things around because you were worried about him.”

All she could do was stare at the two men before her, hoping that her gaze would scare them into stopping. Sadly for her, they were both quite used to it by this point and began laughing even harder. Before it got completely out of hand Marin stopped and tried to calm himself down as he coughed out a sentence.

“Oh, he wanted to see you when you got back, by the way,” he coughed a few more times, “Something about the Wastes.”

The phrase “the Wastes” was all Dell needed to hear before she grabbed her axe and ran for the nearest staircase up onto the battlements and into Cullen’s office.

“I’mbackyouwantedtoseeme,” she blurted out in one breath, too excited to properly greet him.

The sudden noise snapped Cullen’s head up to look at what came bursting in the door; he had been having a conversation with someone else at the time and wasn’t expecting anyone to come running through the side door.

“I-…Dell? Slow down, you just got back-” he tried starting before he was interrupted by her quickly zooming over and wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug.

She whispered to him, “I’m safe,” before letting go and recomposing herself. “So, you had something to—” she saw that there was a dwarven woman standing in front of Cullen’s desk, tapping her foot impatiently.

“Oh, I’m sorry! I didn’t see that you had a meeting. I….I’ll just show myself out, you finish up,” Dell said and started to head out the door.

The dwarf spoke, “Nah, it’s not like it’s anything that needs to be hidden,” She examined her left hand with disinterest, “We’re just figuring out lyrium arrangements since I still technically—and that’s extremely subjective, lemme tell you— have ties to the Carta.”

Cullen stepped in then, trying to make this a little less awkward, “Miss Cadash, this is Dell. Dell, Miss Cadash.” He gestured to each one as he said their names while the dwarf shook her head.

“Just Daria’s fine, _Commander_ ,” she leaned into that word, trying to make her point to drop formalities.

Dell’s eyes widened to almost twice their normal size as she stared at the woman in front of her like she was  a ghost. She held up her hand to hold off other conversation, “I’m sorry. Did I hear you correctly, your name is _Daria_ Cadash?”

Daria’s expression went from neutral to unamused in less than a second, “Yeah, honey. That’s exactly right, you got a problem?”

Quickly, Dell shoved her hand into her pocket and pulled out a small metal pendant with a glass phial in the center. It glowed slightly in her hand as she held it out for the other woman to see. Cullen stood there confused and scared, thinking to himself _You don’t just present your phylactery to someone first time you meet them, Maker’s breath…._

Daria stared at the object in the much taller woman’s hand before she recognized it as that disgusting thing she stole nearly five years ago. Her eyes flew open and she looked up at Dell before screaming, “Sapphire, you made it! You actually fucking did it! Andraste’s tits, I didn’t think you had it in you but here you are! What’re they calling you, now?”

She playfully hit Dell’s back and the mage grinned and giggled, Cullen now completely mortified by the situation unfolding before him. _They know each other? What’s with the phylactery? And what did she make?_

“I go by Dell instead of the green rock,” Dell looked over and saw Cullen’s confusion and tried to explain, “Um, Cullen….remember a while back when I mentioned that I escaped from the Circle?”

Before she could finish Daria jumped in and exclaimed, “It was me! I helped her — oh man I thought you’d be back there in a month — she wasn’t really that prepared. And I stole that thing — nasty, by the way,” She screamed once in excitement and then continued, “I can’t believe you did it!”

Cullen’s face slowly changed back to a neutral expression as he pieced together Daria’s hurried words. “Oh, I see,” he said slowly, “and that’s when you,” he pointed at Dell, “kidnapped your sister and you both ran off and lived in the woods for 3 years?”

Daria’s face contorted in shock and Dell stood proudly and answered with a short, “Yep”.

“You kidnapped someone,” Daria shouted, “I helped you get out because I thought you were nice, what in the Maker’s name were you doing stealing kids?”

“Don’t worry, it was only my little sister,” Dell chuckled as she smiled remembering the day she snuck back into the family estate, “She had been writing to me every so often in the Circle; she hated it back home and just wanted to leave. So naturally when I got out I went and grabbed her too.”

Daria calmed herself and hopped up to sit on Cullen’s desk, “Oh, okay,” she said, clearly relieved that nothing too illegal had transpired. Cullen just stared at the papers she had shifted and sighed inwardly. _Those were all in order and ready to go out…._

Dell looked at Daria and Cullen and smiled before quickly saying, “I have to go fix up a few things with my mount so you two continue your discussion and I’ll catch up with you later.” She ran back out of the office as quickly as she had run in and zoomed straight to Leliana, ignoring the looks she got from everyone as she made her own magical staircase up to the rookery. _I have to know where Daria’s staying…..I have things for her. Explaining that name thing to Cullen though…that’s going to be something else entirely._

* * *

When Daria went back to her temporary tent later that evening she found a large basket on her bedroll. She examined it and found a mix of fruits, nuts, and twenty gold pieces. Attached was a small note that read: “ _~With interest~ Em_ ”

_Awww, that kid is so sweet. I guess that job was worth it after all._


End file.
